Escargot cooked with garlic and parsley butter in a shell (with a €0.02 coin as scale)

Escargot cooked with garlic and parsley butter outside of its shell

A single escargot, with snail tongs and a snail fork. 2 cent euro coin (€002 is the second lowest domination of the Euro coins.

Escargots, in French cuisine, is a dish of cooked land snails, usually served as an appetizer. French cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of France. The word snail is a Common name that can be used for almost all members of the Molluscan class Gastropoda which have coiled shells in the ApetitizerShpjpg|thumb|Swiss cuisine ( Schynige Platte)]] Hors d'œuvre ( French literally 'outside the work' English ɔrˈdɝv or appetizers are

The French word escargot means snail; it is akin to old Occitan escaragol^[1] and Catalan cargol, which, in turn, may derive from a pre-Roman word *karakauseli^[2]. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official This name is almost invariably used on restaurant menus (especially in North America) to refer to snails as a food item, though in most Commonwealth countries one can also order snails in English. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

Not all species of snail are edible, but many are. Even among the edible species, the palatability of the flesh varies from species to species. In France, two species native to France are normally used for preparing escargots. One of these, the "petit-gris" Helix aspersa, is common in temperate climates worldwide. Helix aspersa, Common name the garden snail; has two recent synonyms Cornu aspersum and Cantareus aspersus

Preparation

Typically, the snails are removed from their shells, gutted, cooked (usually with garlic butter or chicken stock), and then poured back into the shells together with the butter and sauce for serving, often on a plate with several shell-sized depressions. Allium sativum L, commonly known as garlic, is a species in the Onion family Alliaceae. Butter is a Dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented Cream or Milk. Additional ingredients may be added such as garlic, thyme, parsley and pine nuts. Special snail tongs (for holding the shell) and snail forks (for extracting the meat) are also normally provided.

Like most molluscs, Escargot is high in protein and low in fat content if served without butter. Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 It is estimated that escargot is 15% protein, 2. 4% fat and about 80% water. ^[3].

Heliciculture

Main article: Heliciculture

Because snails eat soil, decayed matter, and a wide variety of leaves, the contents of their stomachs can be toxic to humans. Heliciculture (snail farming is the process of farming or raising Snails History Roasted snail shells have been found in archaeological excavations an indication Therefore, before they can be cooked, the snails must first be prepared by purging them of the contents of their digestive system. The process used to accomplish this varies, but generally involves a combination of fasting and purging. The methods most often used can take several days. Farms producing Helix aspersa for sale exist in Europe and in the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Farm-raised snails are typically fed a diet of ground cereals.

See also

• Snails as food
• Periwinkle

References

External links

• Escargot - nutritional value